This is my humble way of paying tribute to a surviving par excellence Filipino statesman with unparalleled achievement and integrity in Philippine politics. Coming from a poor family and weathering the odds, his ascension to the acme of success in life and in politics has inspired countless of his countrymen to be positive achievers and productive citizens. Aside from his impressive curriculum vitae, the physically bomb-deformed Senator taught and shared the meaning of authentic forgiveness. On the Plaza Miranda bombing, that almost caused his life, he piously stated that he has forgiven the mastermind(s) of that infamous incident that left him blind on one eye, totally deaf on one ear and the other, partially deaf. Dr. Salonga, has served the Philippines with excellence, dedication, honesty and pride.
The following biographical index of the Magsaysay Awardee was lifted from the website of the Philippine Senate.
Reputed as “ The Nation’s Fiscalizer ", Jovito Salonga’s distinguished record as Congressman for the 2nd District of Rizal later won for him the overwhelming mandate of the Filipino electorate as he consistently topped three Senatorial elections despite lack of material means and at against all odds – a record without precedent in Philippine political history, in addition to the remarkable fact that he was elected under three different administrations ( that of Macapagal, Marcos and Aquino ). Salonga was chosen as one of the most outstanding Senators with his significant legislations, some of which inspired public interest: the State Scholarship Law, the Disclosure of Interest Act, the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and the Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder.
Salonga has been fighting corruption and dictatorship since his youth. The son of a Presbyterian minister from Rizal province, he joined the resistance movement during the Japanese occupation, was captured, tortured and sentenced by a military court to years of hard labor.
Released in 1943, he topped the bar examinations the following year and made plans to attend Harvard for his master’s degree. He followed up his master’s at Harvard with a doctorate from Yale University, but turned down a faculty position there because he felt he should take part in post-war reconstruction in the Philippines.
Upon his return, he embarked on a career that quickly established him as one of the most brilliant lawyers in the country. He taught law at leading universities in Manila, and authored several tax texts that are used here and abroad.
When Martial Law was declared in 1972, he was one of its most outspoken opponents. He defended political prisoners who challenged the Marcos regime.
In October 1980, after the bombing of the Asian Society of Travel Agents’ conference at the PICC, Salonga was arrested along with several others and was detained without investigation and without charges.
After his release from military custody, he was offered a visiting scholarship at Yale, where he engaged in the revision of his book on International Law. He completed his book on the Marcos years and a program for a new democratic Philippines.
Salonga returned to the Philippines on January 21, 1985 and when the Aquino government took over after the People Power Revolution of February 1986, Salonga was named chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which was tasked with investigating and recovering the ill-gotten wealth of the members of the past regime.
With his selfless dedication to duty and his significant contributions to the country, Jovito Salonga continues to serve as brilliant inspiration to all Filipinos. He was Senate President from 1987-1991.
Former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban in his column from the Philippine Daily Inquirer has this to say about Sen. Salonga:
Public service demands much sacrifice yet pays very little. It is not a place for the vacillating and the weak-hearted. Neither is it for the selfish and the self-righteous. New public servants can take some lessons from the life of Dr. Jovito R. Salonga who is celebrating his 90th birthday today. Upon being sworn in as a Cabinet member of Cory Aquino, he dissolved his famous law office. Though not required by law, he gave up his only source of income to set a new standard in ethical conduct.
Indeed, Doctor Salonga is the ideal public servant. He was a bar topnotcher (No. 1 in the 1944 bar exams), scholar (one of the few in the world to earn a masters in law at Harvard and a doctorate in jurisprudence at rival Yale), professor (in several law schools), educator (one of the youngest ever to be law dean), author (his books on evidence, corporation law and international law are the most authoritative on these subjects and his several biographic sketches are bestsellers), congressman (who single-handedly trumped two dynasties in Rizal province), senator and Senate president (with the distinction of being the only Filipino to top the Senate race three times), the best president the country never had (lost to Fidel V. Ramos in 1992). And he is the oldest living Filipino statesman and legend.
Having met him in 1956 when I was still a student and communing with him regularly up to the present, I know him to be all these. But I know him best as my lifetime guru—not just on the labyrinths of the law but more so on how to live a life worth living.
I will always remember his supreme teaching: While it is good to have the things that money can buy, like food on the table, clothing on our backs, medicine for our illnesses and even a car and a house for the family, we must never ever forget that it is far better to aspire for the things that money cannot buy like integrity, moral courage, character, honor, humility, dignity and an abiding faith in the love and mercy of God.
(Salonga continues to fight for good government and governance through the Kilosbayan which he founded. His more detailed online biography can be read here. -Cor Invictus)
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